Buscan regular la eliminación de residuos en las aguas del Caribe

CTO Secretary General Calls for Legislation that Regulates Disposal of Waste in Caribbean Waters

The head of the Caribbean region’s tourism development agency has called for legislation to regulate the disposal of waste in Caribbean waters.

Delivering the keynote address at the opening of the 2nd Sustainable Conference in St. Eustatius this morning, Hugh Riley, the secretary general of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), said the Caribbean had a responsibility to protect and preserve its water resources.

The two day conference, organized by the St. Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation with support from the CTO, has as its theme, Tourism and Water: Protecting Our Common Future.

Reflecting on the theme, Mr. Riley reminded delegates, including Island Governor Gerald Berkel and the commission of tourism, Carlyle Tearr, that water was at the core of the Caribbean’s efforts at sustainability and that it was important that the necessary policies be put in place to safeguard this vital resource.

“We must never forget that we in the Caribbean have a duty to create policies and to engender behaviors in our people and in our visitors, that will safeguard our water resources for future generations,” the CTO secretary general told the audience gathered at the Mike Van Putin Youth Centre.

“We must practice sustainable water-use policies and observe appropriate waste-water management practices. We must not only enact, but also enforce legislation that regulates the proper disposal of waste in the waters that wash our shores, and we must severely punish all violators, because they endanger our health and jeopardize our children’s future,” he added.

Over the next two days delegates will debate a number of water-related issues, including who benefits from coastal management; the risks to wildlife and water along with the tourism opportunities that come with development; and water conservation in hospitality.

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Get familiar with Statia world wide

Most recently, the island of St. Eustatius won an award: No Anansi Story! – Best Feature By A Caribbean Journalist by Ms. Rickisha St. Louis of Grenada. Her broadcast feature on St. Eustatius entitled, “St. Eustatius: The Caribbean’s Hidden Treasure” has been broadcasting on the Caribbean Media Corporation’s Carib-Vision http://youtu.be/qrU-MQd0jv8.

St. Eustatius, The Caribbean’s Hidden Treasure was categorized in the Top 8 Caribbean Towns in the world http://www.lonelyplanet.com/caribbean/travel-tips-and-articles/76984 by Robert Reid of Lonely Planet. On October 19, 2012, St. Eustatius was named “The Caribbean Shangri-La” story published in the famous Washington Post http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-10-19/lifestyle/35499555_1_kapok-scorpion-crater by Scott Elder. In 1991, the Simon Doncker House Museum won an American Express Award as best example of historic preservation in the Caribbean area. In 2008, The Simon Doncker House Museum received a St. Eustatius Development Foundation achievement Award. On April 26th, 2013, the Simon Doncker Museum received an Orange ribbon from The House of Orange. The St. Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation has a new updated website www.statiatourism.com.

About the St. Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation

The St. Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation is the agency responsible for promoting and developing tourism on St. Eustatius. The mission is to get the island Government to lend greater priority to tourism by providing adequate funding to effectively and efficiently promote tourism in key markets; ensuring a quality tourism product by introducing and controlling the minimum standard requirements; preparing future generations to take on greater responsibilities within this sector by means of teaching tourism as a subject on levels of the education system.

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), with headquarters in Barbados and offices in New York and London, is the Caribbean’s tourism development agency comprising membership of over 30 countries and territories including Dutch, English, French and Spanish, as well as a myriad of private sector allied members. The CTO’s vision is to position the Caribbean as the most desirable, year-round, warm weather destination, and its purpose is Leading Sustainable Tourism – One Sea, One Voice, One Caribbean.

Among the benefits to its members, the organization provides specialized support and technical assistance in sustainable tourism development, marketing, communications, advocacy, human resource development, research and information technology.